First Step taking next steps with new building

Vicki Laudick Casey cuts a ribbon for the opening of First Step Family Violence Intervention Services new facility at 647 Locust St. with help from staff and local officials.(Photo11: Leonard Hayhurst/Tribune)Buy Photo

COSHOCTON - After 25 years providing free assistance to the abused and advocating abuse prevention in Coshocton County, First Step Family Violence Intervention Services finally has a permanent home in the community.

Office staff have been working for about a month in the new facility at 647 Locust St.

Previously, the non-profit organization has leased office space and bounced around a couple times over the years. Executive Director Vicki Laudick Casey said having a permanent location will aide with their profile in the community and accessibility and safety for those in need of their services.

"We really focused on meeting the needs of individuals. It's a really simple building, just to provide office space. When individuals come in we want them to feel comfortable, welcomed, safe and relaxed," she said. "As people are leaving violent environments, it's an ongoing process. It's talking about safety planning, it's about what they need to do to empower themselves."

Laudick Casey said they explored buying a property and renovating a structure, but the cost was prohibitive. The property on Locust Street was donated by Coshocton Community Housing.

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First Step Family Violence Intervention Services recently moved into a new building at 647 Locust St. made possible through $240,000 in local donations, foundations grants and $50,000 from the state capital budget.(Photo11: Leonard Hayhurst/Tribune)

Funding for the structure came from donations by local businesses and individuals, grants from various foundations and $50,000 from the state capital budget. The building has been dedicated to the late Catherine Howard, who provided substantial funding for the project. Laudick Casey said about $240,000 was raised with some money going to the parking lot, fencing, security features and other elements.

"Most of the funding was from individual donors who gave to us," she said. "We wouldn't be here without that support. And it means they realize the importance of the services we provide in the community or they wouldn't have supported us."

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Executive Director Vicki Laudick Casey speaks about a main contributor to the new First Step building, the late Catherine Howard.
Leonard Hayhurst, Reporter

The building features seven offices, a group meeting room, children's room, waiting area and a clothing room that serves anyone in need in the community. The room at the moment also houses five friendship benches and illustrated T-shirts part of the Clothesline Project.

Each shirt features the story of someone affected by domestic violence with the color of the shirt denoting what kind such as yellow or beige for those who were battered or assaulted, white for those who have died from assault and blue or green for those attacked due to their sexual orientation. All the shirts are from those in Coshocton County.

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T-Shirts part of the Clothesline Project hang in the new office building for First Step Family Violence Intervention Services. The shirts illustrate the stories of those abused with the color of shirt denoting the type of violence faced.(Photo11: Leonard Hayhurst/Tribune)

"The first time I saw the Clothesline Project was in Licking County and there was a picture of a woman who had died, the shirt was white and her sisters had made it. To me that was the reality of what First Step was all about. It's people's lives," Laudick Casey said. "Hope is so important and we provide hope to those seeking a change in their lives."

The agency provides services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. This can include temporary housing and help in procuring needs like job training and permanent housing to stay out of bad situations. Laudick Casey said they deal with about 150 new people each year, with others receiving continuing support as they navigate the system.

First Step also provided abuse prevention to about 93 percent of Coshocton County school students last year through presentations or one-on-one meetings covering bullying and other forms of violence.

"Our hope is if we are doing the prevention now, when they become adults they'll see there is other ways of dealing with anger whether its perpetrators or victims saying 'I'm not living like this,'" Laudick Casey said.

For more information on First Step, go to firststepcoshocton.org or call 740-622-8504 or 740-622-9533.